Improved device density in manufacture of non-volatile memory devices, such as flash memory, enables storage of increasingly larger quantities of data in very small packages. For example, hundreds or even thousands of music files or dozens of video files may be stored on a removable non-volatile memory device that is approximately the size of a small or medium-sized coin. Removable non-volatile memory devices are so compact and portable that several of the devices may be easily transported in an accessory pouch, a pocket, a handbag, a book bag, or another carrier. A user can swap memory devices to access different stored content, such as to switch between different music libraries, between a music library and a video library or between a video library and a photograph library, as illustrative examples.
Music files, image files, and other media files are conventionally accessed by file systems using a file name. However, users typically select media files by accessing a metadata table generated for the media files to display, for example, a song name. Conventionally, when a non-volatile memory device is inserted in a host device to be accessed by a media player or other media access software, the host device causes a metadata table to be generated for the media files stored on the non-volatile memory device. Metadata generation causes a delay before enabling full access to the media on the non-volatile memory device. Conventionally, metadata generation involves using an open file command to open each of the files from which metadata is to be extracted. The open file command specifies a file name of the file to be opened. The file name is then compared to each of the file names listed in the file directory until the file is found. Once the file is found by its file name, the address of a first cluster of the file is used to open the file. Unfortunately, when the file directory lists hundreds or thousands of files, using the open command to open each file by name to extract metadata may take a long time. For example, with a large non-volatile memory device that is filled with music files, such as a 16 GB non-volatile memory card that may accommodate on the order of one-thousand songs, accessing the file directory, opening each media file, and extracting the metadata may take as long as thirty minutes. A user experience may therefore be enhanced by reducing a delay associated with generating the metadata table.